Broadcast program processing apparatus, computer system, broadcast program evaluation system, and computer program

ABSTRACT

A broadcast program processing apparatus that enables a user to acquire evaluation data provided by others who have already watched a broadcast program when the user intends to play back the recorded broadcast program. A broadcast program receiving apparatus records the broadcast program. Before playing back the broadcast program, the broadcast program receiving apparatus acquires the evaluation data concerning the broadcast program provided by others using a cell phone unit. The acquired evaluation data is outputted in connection with the recorded broadcast program. The user can determine whether he or she wants to watch the broadcast program with reference to the evaluations made by others.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to broadcast program processingapparatuses, computer systems, and so on.

BACKGROUND ART

Heretofore, broadcast programs for television, which are transmitted assatellite or terrestrial signals, for example, by a broadcast station,are received by receiving apparatuses in individual homes, while beingconcurrently with broadcasting, to be watched on a TV apparatus or thelike. To watch the broadcast program, a viewer can play back a broadcastprogram that he or she intends to watch, which has been recorded on avideo tape or saved as digital data in a PC (personal computer). In amethod for recording broadcast programs as digital data, for example,motion pictures are compressed into the MPEG-2 (moving picture expertsgroup) format and are saved in an HDD (hard disk) or the like within thePC. When the viewer plays back the saved broadcast program to watch it,the compressed data concerning the broadcast program is outputted asvideo and voice data from an MPEG decoder and is played back.

Meanwhile, when the viewer intends to watch the broadcast program, he orshe selects a favorite broadcast program to watch it, from among a largenumber of broadcast programs provided from a plurality of broadcaststations almost all day, with reference to comments on a programschedule and so on. However, the comments on the program schedule arenot enough for the viewer to determine whether the broadcast programthat he or she intends to watch suits his/her taste. It is often thecase that, after watching the broadcast program, the viewer has theimpression that the broadcast program did not suit his/her taste.

An object of the present invention is to refer to evaluations made byothers who have already watched a broadcast program when watching therecorded broadcast program, thereby resolving the above-describedtechnical problems.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In order to achieve the above object, a broadcast program processingapparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a user canrefer to evaluations of a broadcast program made by others when he orshe plays back the recorded broadcast program. Specifically, when theuser plays back the broadcast program recorded in a recording unit of abroadcast program processing apparatus to watch it, he or she acquiresthe evaluations made by others of the broadcast program through anacquiring unit over a network. Since the acquired evaluations made byothers are outputted by an outputting unit in connection with broadcastprogram, by referring to the outputted evaluations, the user candetermine whether he or she will play back the broadcast program towatch it. The network may be the Internet or a wired or wirelesstelephone network, and is not particularly limited.

The broadcast program processing apparatus may have a memory such as anHDD, and the broadcast program may be recorded as digital data in thememory in the recording unit. Identification information concerning thebroadcast program stored in the memory can be transmitted over thenetwork, and evaluation data corresponding to the identificationinformation can be acquired by the acquiring unit. The identificationinformation means information for identifying the broadcast program,such as information for determining a broadcast station, the broadcastdate, and so on. One unit for the broadcast program may be a specifiedbroadcast program, and the time unit for the broadcast program, forexample, by the minute or by the hour, is not particularly limited.

After the user watches the broadcast program, evaluation result dataconcerning the broadcast program can be transmitted from a transmittingunit of the broadcast program processing apparatus over the network. Theevaluation result data transmitted here is used as new evaluation dataprovided to other users.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a computer system capableof transmitting to and receiving from a user terminal evaluation dataconcerning a broadcast program. Specifically, the computer systemacquires evaluation result data concerning the broadcast programprovided from a plurality of viewers by acquiring means. A large amountof acquired evaluation result data is compiled into the evaluation data.The evaluation data is transmitted to the user terminal fromtransmitting means in response to a request from the user terminal of auser who intends to record and watch the broadcast program.

With this computer system, evaluations of the broadcast program providedby viewers who have already watched the broadcast program can beefficiently compiled, and the compiled evaluation data can be smoothlyprovided to the user. One example of such a computer system is a server.The server may be a stand-alone server or may include a plurality offunctionally distributed servers. The request from the user terminalincludes a connect request from the user terminal to the computer systemand an acquisition request and a send request for the evaluation datafrom the user terminal.

The computer system may include identification information acquiringmeans for acquiring identification information concerning the broadcastprogram that the user intends to watch from the user terminal. Theevaluation data concerning the broadcast program can be transmitted fromthe transmitting means to the user terminal based on the acquiredidentification information. As described above, transmission of theevaluation data concerning the broadcast program designated by the userterminal to the user terminal enables efficient transmission ofevaluation information required by the user to the user terminal.

The transmitting means may periodically transmit the evaluation dataconcerning a plurality of broadcast programs to the user terminal. Inthis case, since the evaluation data concerning a plurality of broadcastprograms is transmitted, it is preferable for the user to select thenecessary evaluation data on the user terminal. “Periodically” meansthat the period can be arbitrarily set at the user side or the computersystem side. Specifically, it means every few hours, at a specified timeevery day, at a specified time on a specified day of the week, and soon.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is an evaluationprocessing system of a broadcast program including a terminal foraudio-visually processing the recorded broadcast program and a servercapable of transmitting to and receiving from the terminal evaluationdata concerning the broadcast program. Specifically, the server storesthe evaluation data concerning the broadcast program provided by aviewer using storing means, and transmits the evaluation data inresponse to a request from the terminal from server-side transmittingmeans to the terminal. The terminal acquires the evaluation data fromthe server by acquiring means, and outputs the acquired evaluation datain connection with identification information concerning the recordedbroadcast program from transmitting means. In this manner, communicationof the evaluation data concerning the broadcast program between theserver and the terminal can be considered as one type of informationproviding service. The service provided by the server to a user may be apay service or a free service.

The terminal of the evaluation processing system of a broadcast programmay include inputting means for inputting an evaluation result of abroadcast program that was already watched and terminal-sidetransmitting means for transmitting data concerning the inputtedevaluation result to the server. The evaluation result inputted by theuser may be stored in the server together with the existing evaluationresults and may be provided to other users as new evaluation data.

The server of the evaluation processing system of a broadcast programmay include authentication means for authenticating that the user isregistered in the server in response to a request from the terminal. Theevaluation data concerning the broadcast program can be transmitted toand received from the authenticated user. When the evaluation processingsystem of a broadcast program is provided as a pay service, it isnecessary to confirm that the user is a contracting user. Even when thesystem is not provided as a pay service, transmission and reception ofthe evaluation data with the user identified can avoid duplicateregistration of the evaluation result by the same user and so on.

When the server has the authentication means, the server may includecustomer management means for adding privilege points to information,which is stored in the server, concerning the user of the terminal whichhas transmitted evaluation result data. The server can provide aprivilege such as money and goods in accordance with the privilegepoints in order to encourage the user to transmit the evaluation data.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is a computer programfor processing evaluation information concerning a broadcast program.Specifically, the computer program is executed in a computer systemconnectable to a network. The computer system has a function foracquiring evaluation data concerning the broadcast program given by aviewer over the network and a function for outputting the evaluationdata corresponding to the broadcast program recorded therein togetherwith information identifying the broadcast program. With such a computerprogram, a user can receive the evaluation data concerning the broadcastprogram and can record evaluation results on the server and so on, usinga PC already owned by the user, which is connectable to a network,without purchasing a new apparatus.

The information identifying the broadcast program here is, for example,information that has title information of the broadcast program.However, the information identifying the broadcast program is notlimited to such information and may be a broadcast station of thebroadcast program or the broadcast date thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating transmission and reception ofevaluation information between each terminal and a server in anevaluation processing system of a broadcast program.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a television broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, serving as a broadcast program processingapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the specific configuration of a server40 of a service provider used in an evaluation information providingservice of the broadcast program.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one type of an evaluationinformation service of the broadcast program.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process flow in the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a display screen indicating the recordedbroadcast program.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an evaluation information display screen.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the evaluation information display screenbefore the broadcast program is watched.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show examples of the evaluation information displayscreen after the broadcast program is watched, wherein FIG. 9A shows thedisplay screen when voting for an evaluation, and FIG. 9B shows thedisplay screen when selecting an evaluation comment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the transmission and reception flow ofevaluation data between a cell phone 66 or a PC 62 and the server 40.

FIG. 11 shows an example of an evaluation information form.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the evaluation information form with a sendinformation form added.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process flow in the server 40.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an evaluation processing systemof a broadcast program according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The evaluation processing system of a broadcast program shown in FIG. 1includes a broadcast program receiving apparatus 10, which is a terminalused by a user, a PC 62, and a mobile telephone terminal (hereinafterreferred to as a cell phone) 66. The system further includes a server 40for receiving information from the user and for supplying the user withthe information, and a cellular relay station 60 acting as anintermediary when sending or receiving the information between thebroadcast program receiving apparatus 10 and the server 40. Theevaluation processing system furthermore includes the Internet 50 and anISP (internet service provider) 63, acting as intermediaries whensending or receiving the information between the PC 62 and the server40, and a second cellular relay station 64 acting as an intermediarywhen sending or receiving the information between the cell phone 66 andthe server 40.

In the evaluation processing system of broadcast programs shown in FIG.1, evaluation information or evaluation data concerning the broadcastprograms provided by a plurality of viewers are stored in the server 40.The user accesses to the server 40 through the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, the PC 62, the cell phone 66, or the like, eachserving as a terminal, and receives the evaluation data from the server40. Specifically, the user who intends to watch a recorded broadcastprogram can easily decide whether he or she will play back the broadcastprogram to watch it, based on evaluations by others who have alreadywatched the broadcast program, the evaluations being stored in theserver 40. The evaluations mean impressions or criticisms, for example,that the broadcast program is recommended, that it is not recommended,that the actor's performances in the broadcast program are appreciated,or that viewers are impressed. After watching the broadcast program, theuser evaluates the broadcast program and registers the evaluation dataon the server 40 using the terminal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the broadcast program receivingapparatus (broadcast program processing apparatus) 10 for television,serving as a terminal for the user.

The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 can process TV broadcastprograms for satellite digital broadcasting and terrestrial analogbroadcasting. The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 includes a BS(broadcasting satellite)/CS (communication satellite) tuner 13 forprocessing satellite signals, a digital demodulator circuit 14, an errorcorrection circuit 15, and a demultiplexer circuit 16. The apparatus 10further includes a terrestrial tuner 18 for processing a terrestrialsignal, a video decoder 19, and an MPEG encoder 20. In order to recordand play back the received broadcast program, to process the evaluationinformation thereof, and so on, the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 21, an HDD 24, anMPEG decoder 27, an OSD (on screen display) circuit 28, and a system bus11. It further includes a remote control light receiving unit 25 forreceiving instructions from the user through a remote controller 26.Although FIG. 2 illustrates the case where the terrestrial analogbroadcasting is received as terrestrial broadcasting, the broadcastprogram receiving apparatus 10 may include a receiving circuit capableof receiving terrestrial digital broadcasts, which will be introduced inthe future.

The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 records the broadcastprogram by saving data based on the signals received from a televisionbroadcast station on the HDD 24 serving as a recording unit. However,other means that can record broadcast programs may be used in place ofthe HDD 24. The HDD 24 may be replaced, for example, with a memory(storage means) that is capable of recording the broadcast program asdigital data, such as a CD (compact disc) or a DVD (digital versatiledisc), or with an analog video tape.

The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 further includes a cellphone unit 22, as a data acquiring and sending unit, for sending andreceiving data concerning the evaluations to and from the server 40. Thecell phone unit 22 connects to the cell phone of the user and includesan interface section through which the data can be transmitted to andreceived from the cell phone. The data transmission and receptionbetween the server 40 and the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10is performed through the cell phone connected to the cell phone unit 22.When using a wire telephone, a wire telephone unit such as a modem canbe used in place of the cell phone unit 22. In this case, theinformation can be transmitted to and received from the server 40 via atelephone network. Furthermore, since the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10 has network connection capabilities, the information may betransmitted to and received from the server 40 via a network.

Terminals that the user can use in the transmission and reception of theevaluation data concerning the broadcast program include the PC 62 andthe cell phone 66 shown in FIG. 1.

A commonly-used mobile phone and preferably a mobile phone that can beconnected to the server 40 over the Internet 50 can be used as the cellphone 66. In the latter case, the evaluation data can be easilytransmitted to and received from the server 40. When the connection tothe server 40 is not implemented over the Internet 50, the evaluationdata can be transmitted to and received from a call center (not shown)or the like connected to the server 40 by voice or push-button tones.

The PC 62 is configured so as to be connectable to the Internet 50 andmay be a commonly-used PC. It can include a display, a keyboard, a unitincluding a CPU and an HDD capable of recording the broadcast program, adevice for connecting to the Internet 50, and so on.

Since the PC 62 or the cell phone 66, when used as the terminal, doesnot have means for receiving and recording the broadcast program, unlikethe broadcast program receiving apparatus 10, the user can use otherapparatuses to receive and record the broadcast program. For example,the broadcast program received using a commonly-used TV apparatus may berecorded on video equipment or the like. The broadcast program may bereceived through the PC 62 and recorded on the PC's built-in memory oron an external memory. Additionally, the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10 may be used without the cell phone unit 22.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 40.The server 40 includes a congestion control section 45 for controllingcongestion in the transmission and reception of the evaluation data toand from the terminal; a congestion control management section 46 formanaging the congestion control; an application management section 47for processing the evaluation information; a customer support section 48for receiving an input from an operator terminal 51; an internet gatewaysection 41 for connecting to the Internet 50; a charge managementsection 42; a customer management section 43; and an accounting gatewaysection (hereinafter referred to as a payment GW section) 44 forcommunicating with an external financial institution server 52. Theapplication management section 47 includes a database section (notshown), in which the evaluation data concerning the broadcast program isstored.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a sample pattern for providing anevaluation information service of the broadcast program, in which theserver 40 and the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 serving asthe terminal for the user are used.

A user 70 receiving the service purchases the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 sold by a receiver manufacturer 71, as shown by(81) in FIG. 4, and pays the purchase charge thereof, as shown by (82)in FIG. 4. As shown by (83) in FIG. 4, the user 70 can enter into acontract for the service with a service provider 72 if required. Afterentering into contract, the user 70 is registered in the server 40 as asubscriber to the service provided by the service provider 72. When thereceiver manufacturer 71 sells the broadcast program receiving apparatus10 to the user 70, the receiver manufacturer 71 may act as anintermediary for the contract between the service provider 72 and theuser 70. In this case, the service provider 72 may pay a cash reward asa contract incentive to the receiver manufacturer 71 in accordance withthe contract with the user 70, as shown by (91) in FIG. 4.

The evaluation information concerning the broadcast program is suppliedby the service provider 72 via the server 40 to the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 of the user 70 and is stored in the server 40. Atthis time, the service provider 72 sends the evaluation data concerningthe broadcast program to a telecommunication services company 73 andpays a call charge to the telecommunication services company 73, asshown by (84) in FIG. 4. The evaluation data concerning the broadcastprogram from the server 40 is received by the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10. The user 70 operates the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 to obtain the evaluation information concerningthe broadcast program. The telecommunication services company 73corresponds to the cellular relay station 60 in FIG. 1 when thebroadcast program receiving apparatus 10 is used; whereas it correspondsto the ISP 63 or the second cellular relay station 64 when otherterminals are used.

In contrast, when the user 70 evaluates an already watched broadcastprogram, the user 70 inputs the evaluations into the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, which sends the evaluation results to theservice provider 72. The service provider 72 compiles the receivedevaluation results and provides an evaluation incentive so as to affordan incentive to the user 70 who makes an evaluation to transmit theevaluation data, as shown by (85) in FIG. 4. The evaluation incentiveincludes addition of privilege points, provision of goods, and offeringof privileges such as discounts.

The service provider 72 requests a financial institution 74, such as abank, to act as an agent for billing the user 70 for a service charge,as shown by (86) in FIG. 4, and pays a commission charge to thefinancial institution 74 (87). The financial institution 74 bills theuser 70 for the service charge, as shown by (88) in FIG. 4. The user 70pays the billed service charge to the financial institution 74, as shownby (89) in FIG. 4. The financial institution 74 sends the service chargeentrusted by the user 70 to the service provider 72, as shown by (90) inFIG. 4.

The server 40 includes a customer support section 48 serving as a windowfor inquiries from the user 70 about the service provided by the serviceprovider 72 and so on. Input jobs (such as various settings in theservice, registration of user information to a database, andmodification of the user information in the database) from the operatorterminal 51 can be processed in the customer support section 48.

The flow of transmitting and receiving the evaluation data between eachterminal (the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10, the PC 62, orthe cell phone 62) and the server 40, which is important in providingthe services described above, will now be specifically described.

First, the user must record the broadcast program received by thebroadcast program receiving apparatus 10 on the HDD 24 when he or sheuses the evaluation information service of the broadcast program. In thecase of a satellite broadcast program, an IF (intermediate frequency)BS/CS signal inputted from a BS antenna 12 is converted to the basebandby the BS/CS tuner 13 and is inputted to the digital demodulator circuit14. After the demodulated signal is corrected in the error correctioncircuit 15, a required video signal and audio signal are extracted bythe demultiplexer circuit 16. The extracted video signal and audiosignal are recorded on the HDD 24 via the system bus 11. As in the caseof the broadcast program of the terrestrial analog broadcasting, thesignal inputted from a terrestrial antenna 17 is demodulated by theterrestrial tuner 18 and is then digitized by the video decoder 19. Thedigitized signal is compressed into the MPEG-2 format in the MPEGencoder 20 and is recorded on the HDD 24 via the system bus 11.

The broadcast program selected from among predesignated broadcastprograms may be recorded on the HDD 24. For example, the user maydesignate individual programs based on a program schedule. It is alsopossible to perform setting so that the broadcast program to be recordedis automatically selected according to the category specified by theuser. Or all of the broadcast programs may be recorded. The user canissue a command to record the broadcast programs using the remotecontrol 26. One unit for recording the broadcast programs may be abroadcast program or it may be arbitrarily set, for example, by theminute or by the hour. The signal submitted through button operation ofthe remote control 26 for recording reservation is received by theremote control light-receiving unit 25 of the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, from which it is transmitted to the CPU 21. Theinstruction from the user is displayed in an image output device 30connected to the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 throughprocessing in the CPU 21, and this instruction can be confirmed based onthe displayed information. Then, the broadcast program is processed forrecording by the CPU 21.

When the user watches the broadcast program recorded as described above,he or she acquires from the server 40 the evaluation data by others whohave already watched the broadcast program.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process flow in the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1.

First, before the evaluation data is acquired from the server 40, adisplay screen that provides a list of broadcast programs alreadyrecorded on the HDD 24, for example, a list of recording times andtitles of the broadcast programs, as shown in FIG. 6, is displayed onthe image output device 30 through the operation of the remote control26 by the user (Step S101). The user selects and designates thebroadcast program to be watched from among the broadcast programsdisplayed on the screen through the operation of the remote control 26.Detailed information (title, cast, brief description, and so on)concerning the selected broadcast program, as shown in FIG. 7, isdisplayed on the screen. At the bottom part of the screen, a selectionbutton 130 for providing an evaluation information display screen of thebroadcast program is displayed.

Next, the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 determines whetherthe user has selected the selection button 130 (Step S102).Specifically, the CPU 21 recognizes and determines via the remotecontrol light-receiving unit 25 the signal which is provided by the userthrough the button operation of the remote control 26 corresponding tothe selection button 130. When the user has not selected the selectionbutton 130, the process terminates. When the user has selected theselection button 130 to display the evaluation information displayscreen, the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 is connected to theserver 40 via a cell phone antenna 23 connected to the cell phone unit22 in order to acquire the evaluation information from the server 40(Step S103). Data (identification information for identifying thebroadcast date or a broadcast station) that identifies the broadcastprogram currently selected to be watched is transmitted from the cellphone antenna 23 connected to the cell phone unit 22 to the server 40via the cellular relay station 60, as shown in FIG. 1. As a result, theevaluation data transmitted from the server 40 is received by the cellphone antenna 23 and downloaded into the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10 via the cell phone unit 22. The evaluation data to bereceived is not limited only to the evaluation information concerning aspecified broadcast program. For example, after the evaluation dataconcerning all of the broadcast programs is acquired, the evaluationdata corresponding to the broadcast program selected to be watched maybe identified and displayed in the broadcast program receiving apparatus10.

The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 determines whether theevaluation data transmitted from the server 40 is acquired (Step S104).When the acquisition is not completed, the apparatus 10 repeats the job(Step S103) for transmitting the acquisition request for the evaluationdata. When the evaluation data is acquired, it is displayed on theevaluation information display screen, which is inserted by the OSDcircuit 28, by the image output device 30 (Step S105). One example ofthe evaluation information display screen is shown in FIG. 8, in whichpoll results 131 showing the number of votes for predetermined standardcomments such as “Recommended” and “Bummer”, and specific evaluationcomments 132 by viewers, such as “Impressed” and “Tear-jerker”, areinserted as the evaluation information in a prepared form by the OSDcircuit 28.

The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 determines whether thedisplayed evaluation data is for a broadcast program that has not beenwatched by the user or for a broadcast program that has already beenwatched (Step S106). For example, when the broadcast program recorded onthe HDD 24 has already been played back, this determination can be madebased on the information that the broadcast program has been playedback, which is preset so as to be included in the identificationinformation. When the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10determines that the evaluation data is for a broadcast program that hasnot been watched by the user, a Play button 133 and an Erase button 134are additionally displayed at the bottom part of the evaluationinformation display screen by the OSD circuit 28, as shown in FIG. 8(Step S107). Next, the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10determines whether the user has selected the Erase button 134 on theevaluation information display screen through the button operation ofthe remote control 26 (Step S108). When the user has not selected theErase button 134, playback of the broadcast program begins (Step S110).The playback of the broadcast program is performed by reading out avideo and voice data recorded on the HDD 24 by the MPEG decoder 27 andoutputting them by the externally provided image output device 30 and anexternally provided audio output device 31. When the user has selectedthe Erase button 134, the selected broadcast program is erased from theHDD 24 (Step S109) and the process terminates.

When the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 determines that thebroadcast program has already been watched (after watching) in StepS106, additional buttons for polling the user's vote with respect toevaluation of the broadcast program is displayed on the evaluationinformation display screen by the OSD circuit 28 (Step S111). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9A, a Recommended button 135 and a Bummerbutton 136 are displayed at the bottom part of the evaluationinformation display screen. The user polls his/her vote by selectingeither the Recommended button 135 or the Bummer button 136 through thebutton operation of the remote control 26 to designate it. The broadcastprogram receiving apparatus 10 determines whether a poll has been taken,based on the signal from the remote control 26 received by the remotecontrol light-receiving unit 25 (Step S112). When a poll has not beentaken, the process terminates. When the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10 determines that a poll has been taken in Step S112,additional evaluation comments 137 are displayed on the evaluationinformation display screen displayed by the OSD circuit 28 (Step S113),as shown in FIG. 9B.

The user selects a favorite evaluation comment from among the displayedevaluation comments 137 and designates it using the remote control 26.The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 receives the signal fromthe remote control 26 by the remote control light-receiving unit 25 anddetermines whether one of the evaluation comments 137 has been selected(Step S114). When one of the evaluation comments 137 has been selected,the selected evaluation comment is added to the user poll results inStep S112 (Step S115). When none of the evaluation comments 137 has beenselected, the processing in Step S114 is skipped and the processproceeds to Step S116. In such a case, only the poll results in StepS112 become effective as an evaluation result by the user.

The evaluation result by the user processed as described above (the pollresults in Step S112 and the evaluation comments or the poll results inStep S114) is transmitted to the server 40 via the cell phone antenna 23connected to the cell phone unit 22, according to an instruction fromthe user to send the evaluation result, which is given using the remotecontrol 26 (Step S116). The broadcast program receiving apparatus 10determines whether the evaluation result by the user is received by theserver 40 (Step S117), and it repeats the transmission of the evaluationresult in Step S116 when the reception by the server 40 is notconfirmed. When the reception is confirmed, the process terminates.

As described above, with the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10,the user can easily determine whether he or she wishes to watch thebroadcast program before watching it, based on the evaluation dataconcerning the broadcast program recorded in advance, which data isacquired from the server 40 at viewing. The evaluation result by theuser of the broadcast program is registered on the server 40. Theevaluation result registered as mentioned above is incorporated into theexisting evaluation data as new data and is utilized as the evaluationdata supplied to other users.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process flow for transmission to andreception from the server 40 of the evaluation information using the PC62 or the cell phone 66.

First, the user connects the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 to the server 40(Step S201). When the user dials a specified telephone number, the cellphone 66 can connect to the second cellular relay station 64 via anantenna 67 for the cell phone 66 and an antenna 65 for the secondcellular relay station 64. Then, the cell phone 66 connects to theserver 40 for a cell phone site having a predetermined URL (uniformresource locator) via the second cellular relay station 64 over theInternet. In contrast, the PC 62 connects to the ISP 63 that is used bythe user over a phone line or a leased line when instructed by the useror by automatic settings, and then connects to the server 40 for a PCsite having a predetermined URL over the Internet.

When the server 40 requests that the user input a login name and apassword on the PC 62 or the cell phone 66, the user inputs the loginname and the password in response to the request (Step S202). The dataconcerning the login name and the password inputted on the PC 62 or thecell phone 66 is transmitted to the server 40. As a result, the PC 62 orthe cell phone 66 determines whether the login to the server 40 by theuser is authenticated based on the data transmitted from the server 40(Step S203). When the login to the server is not authenticated,inputting of the login name and the password by the user in Step S202 isrepeated. When the login is granted and the authentication is completed,an evaluation information form shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the PC62 or the cell phone 66 (Step S204).

The evaluation information form shown in FIG. 11 includes the pollresults 131 and the evaluation comments 132, as in the evaluationinformation display screen shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The Recommendedbutton 133 and the Bummer button 134 are also included in this form sothat a user who has already watched the broadcast program can evaluateit. After the user votes for the broadcast program to be evaluated, thePC 62 or the cell phone 66 determines whether the user has polledhis/her vote (Step S205). When the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 determinesthat the user has correctly polled his/her vote, the PC 62 or the cellphone 66 temporarily stores the poll results in a memory therein so asto transmit the poll results to the server 40 together with theevaluation comments described later (Step S206). When the PC 62 or thecell phone 66 determines that the user has not polled his/her votecorrectly or when the user has not polled his/her vote at all, theprocessing in Step S206 is skipped.

Next, the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 determines whether the user hasinputted evaluation comments in an input field 138 in the evaluationinformation form shown in FIG. 11, as shown in FIG. 12 (Step S207).Since character input can be relatively easily performed with the PC 62or the cell phone 66, a comment format for inputting a text sentencethat the user prepared by himself can be employed instead of selectingthe evaluation comment as in the broadcast program receiving apparatus10. When the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 determines that the evaluationcomments have been inputted, the evaluation comments, together with thepoll results stored in Step S206, are temporarily stored in a memory(not shown) in the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 (Step S208). When the PC62 or the cell phone 66 determines that the evaluation comments have notbeen inputted, the processing in Step S208 is skipped.

Then, the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 determines whether evaluationresult data is to be sent to the server 40 (Step S209). For example,after the user has inputted his/her evaluation result, the evaluationinformation form, with a send information form added thereto, isdisplayed as shown in FIG. 12. The user selects a Send button 140 or aCancel button 141 in the send information form. When the PC 62 or thecell phone 66 determines that the evaluation result data is to be sentto the server 40, the evaluation result data temporarily stored in thememory in the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 is sent to the server 40 (StepS210). In contrast, when the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 determines thatthe evaluation result data is not to be sent to the server 40 owing tothe selection of the Cancel button 141 by the user, the evaluationresult data temporarily stored in the memory in the PC 62 or the cellphone 66 is erased (Step S211). When the PC 62 or the cell phone 66 hasreceived an acknowledgement of receipt of the evaluation result datafrom the server 40, the server 40 is disconnected (Step S212) and theprocess terminates.

As described above, the transmission and reception of the evaluationinformation concerning the broadcast program can be performed using aconventional apparatus that the user normally uses, such as the PC 62 orthe cell phone 66, without using the broadcast program receivingapparatus 10, if the evaluation information form is provided in theserver 40. With this method, the user can transmit to and receive fromthe server 40 the evaluation information without purchasing a newapparatus.

Data transmission and reception between the server 40 and each terminalwill be described specifically. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing theprocess flow in the server 40.

In order to provide services for transmitting the evaluation dataconcerning the broadcast program and for acquiring the evaluationresults, which services are appropriate for each terminal (the broadcastprogram receiving apparatus 10, the cell phone 66, or the PC 62), theserver 40 identifies the kind of user terminal when the user terminal isconnected thereto. In other words, the server 40 determines whether itis connected to the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 when anexternal connection is realized (Step S301). Evaluation datatransmission and reception between the server 40 and the broadcastprogram receiving apparatus 10 is performed through the congestioncontrol section 45 and the congestion control management section 46 inthe server 40 shown in FIG. 3. The data is transmitted and received viathe cellular relay station 60 connected to the server 40 and an antenna61 connected to the relay station 60, as shown in FIG. 1. When theserver 40 determines that it is not connected to the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 in Step S301, the processing in Step S310described later is performed.

When the server determines that it is connected to the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, it confirms in the customer management section43 whether a contracting user of a service in question is using theapparatus (Step S302). This confirmation can be performed based on, forexample, customer identification data transmitted from the broadcastprogram receiving apparatus 10 together with a connection request. Theconfirmation of whether the contracting user is using the apparatus isuseful when the evaluation information providing service is provided asa pay service. Since such a confirmation makes it possible to recognizethat a particular user has polled his/her vote with respect to theevaluation of a specified broadcast program, a process for preventingduplicate registration on the server 40 of the evaluation result of thesame broadcast program by the same person can be performed. When theserver 40 determines that the apparatus is not being used by acontracting user in Step S302, the process terminates. When the server40 determines that the apparatus is being used by a contracting user, itdetermines whether acquisition of the evaluation information concerningthe broadcast program is requested (Step S303).

When the server 40 determines that the apparatus is being used by acontracting user in Step S302, broadcast program evaluation data havingthe identification information corresponding to the request from thebroadcast program receiving apparatus 10 is extracted from among theevaluation data that is obtained by compiling the evaluation results ofeach broadcast program stored in the server 40. This processing isperformed by the application management section 47 in the server 40. Theextracted evaluation data is transmitted to the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10 as the evaluation information (Step S304). Whenthe server determines that the evaluation results are not requested inStep S303, the processing in Step S304 is skipped and the processproceeds to Step S305 described later.

When the user 70 is billed for the service charge based on the contractbetween the user 70 and the service provider 72, along with the processfor transmitting the evaluation data from the server 40, the processeddata is transmitted to the charge management section 42 in the server 40to calculate the service charge. The server 52 of the financialinstitution 74 that the user 70 designates is billed for the servicecharge through the payment GW section 44. After the payment by the user70 is finished, the service charge is credited to the payment GW section44 by the server 52 of the financial institution 74.

Next, the server 40 determines whether the evaluation results have beentransmitted from the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 (StepS305). When the user has not watched the broadcast program and theevaluation results have not been transmitted, the process terminates.When the user has already watched the broadcast program, the server 40receives the evaluation results thereof (Step S306). The server 40determines whether the reception of the evaluation results is finished(Step S307). When the reception is not finished, the receptionprocessing in Step S306 is repeated until the reception completes. Theevaluation results transmitted to the server 40 is registered in theserver 40 and is compiled together with other evaluation results (StepS320) to be used as the evaluation data. The evaluation data may betransmitted again to the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 of theuser based on the compilation result obtained here.

The case where the server 40 determines that the terminal connectedthereto is not the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 in Step S301will be described. When the server 40 determines that the connectedterminal is not the broadcast program receiving apparatus 10 in StepS301 in FIG. 13, that is, when it determines that the PC 62 or the cellphone 66 is connected to the internet gateway section 41 in the server40 over the Internet 50, it requests the login name and the password ofthe connected user (Step S310).

The server 40 compares the information inputted by the user withregistration information of the user stored in the customer managementsection 43 and so on in the server 40 and determines for authenticationwhether the inputted information is valid (Step S311). Since the data isdirectly transmitted to and received from the server 40 when thebroadcast program receiving apparatus 10 is connected thereto, such anauthentication procedure is not required; whereas it is preferable toperform such an authentication procedure for security when the PC 62 orthe cell phone 66 is used. When the information inputted in response tothe request is not valid, the input request in Step S310 is repeateduntil the server 40 determines that the information is valid.

When the server 40 determines that the inputted login name and thepassword are valid, it determines whether the terminal connected theretois the PC 62 connected via ISP 63 over the Internet (Step S312).

When the server 40 determines that the connected terminal is the PC 62,it sends an evaluation information form, as shown in FIG. 12, inaccordance with the function of the PC 62 (Step S313). The servertransmits the evaluation information concerning the broadcast program asadditional information in the image input form (Step S314).

When the server 40 determines that the connected terminal is not the PC62 in Step S312, it determines that the connected terminal is the cellphone 66 and sends an image input form compatible with the functions ofthe cell phone 66 (Step S315). As in the PC 62, the evaluationinformation form as shown in FIG. 12 may be used. However, since lessdata can be processed in the cell phone 66 than in the PC 62 and inputoperation by the user is limited therein, use of an image input formwhich reflects such facts is preferable. The server 40 transmits theevaluation information concerning the broadcast program as additionalinformation in the image input form (Step S316).

The server 40 determines whether queued evaluation result data, which isreceived from the user, is correctly inputted (Step S317). When theserver 40 determines that the evaluation information is not correctlyinputted, it waits for the user to input again. When the server 40determines that the evaluation result data is correctly received, andwhen it determines that the evaluation result data inputted from the PCor the cell phone 66 is correctly inputted in Step S317, the server 40compiles the evaluation result data (Step S320) and terminates theprocess.

Accordingly, since the server 40 has the evaluation data concerning thebroadcast program, it can efficiently provide the information requiredby the user by sending the evaluation data in response to the requestfrom the user terminal. The server incorporates the evaluation resultsregistered from each terminal into the existing evaluation data as newdata and utilizes it as the evaluation data provided to other users. Atthis time, with a method in which the process for compiling theevaluation results per broadcast program is performed each time theevaluation result data is transmitted from the user terminal, theevaluation information stored in the server 40 is brought up-to-date andalso the number of evaluations increases, thereby providing evaluationinformation with high reliability. Although each process in the server40 described above may be performed by one server, it may be performedby a plurality of function-distributed servers.

As described above, the broadcast program evaluation processing system,which includes the server 40 and each terminal (the broadcast programreceiving apparatus 10, the PC 62, and/or the cell phone 66), accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, successively collects andprocesses the evaluation information concerning the broadcast program ina short period of time. Thus, evaluation information useful to the useris efficiently and immediately provided when needed.

Although, according to the above embodiment of the present invention,the server 40 provides the evaluation information form to the PC 62 orthe cell phone 66, provision of the evaluation information form may beomitted. For example, a method in which a program for displaying theevaluation information form is introduced into the PC 62 or the cellphone 66, which receives from the server 40 only the information (thepoll results or the evaluation comments) to be displayed in theevaluation information form, may be realized.

The user may poll his/her vote only after he or she has watched thebroadcast program. The broadcast program may be evaluated immediatelyafter the regular broadcasting thereof or the recorded broadcast programmay be played back and then evaluated. In this case, the user transmitsthe evaluation results using the broadcast program receiving apparatus10, the PC 62, the cell phone 66, or the like, and the server 40 of theservice provider 72 performs a process for providing the user 70 with anevaluation incentive in response to the transmission of the evaluationresults by the user.

In an evaluation information processing service of the broadcastprogram, the service provider may provide the evaluations of thebroadcast program by the public, critics, and so on to the user as anadditional service.

A service providing scheme in which the broadcast program is recorded onthe server on the Internet and the user obtains the recorded broadcastprogram and the evaluation information thereof via the terminal may beused. Furthermore, a scheme for providing the broadcast program and alsotransmitting the evaluation data to the user may be realized. Theservice may be provided, for example, through an interactive television.

The broadcast program to be handled in the evaluation informationprocessing service of the broadcast program is not limited to televisionbroadcasting of satellite digital broadcasting or terrestrial analog anddigital broadcasting: it may be image data provided in cablebroadcasting or over the Internet.

As described above, according to the present invention, a broadcastprogram processing apparatus and so on in which the user can obtain theevaluation information supplied by others who have already watched thebroadcast program before watching the recorded broadcast program can berealized.

1. A broadcast program processing apparatus comprising: a recording unitfor recording a broadcast program; an acquiring unit for acquiringevaluation data concerning the broadcast program via a network; and anoutputting unit for outputting the acquired evaluation data inconnection with the recorded broadcast program, wherein when thebroadcast program processing apparatus transmits evaluation dataconcerning the broadcast program via the network to a server, anauthentication procedure is conducted depending on a connection typebetween the broadcast program processing apparatus and the server,wherein when the connection type indicates a connection type of a TVreceiver, the authentication is not executed, wherein when theconnection type indicating a connection type of a mobile phone, theauthentication procedure is executed, wherein the acquiring unitreceives an evaluation form of the recorded broadcast program via thenetwork, a format of the evaluation form being selected from a PC formor a Cell Phone form according to a type of the broadcast programprocessing apparatus, wherein the outputting unit determines whether therecorded broadcast program has been played back and outputs operationbuttons with the acquired evaluation data according to a determinationresult, wherein when the outputting unit determines that the recordedbroadcast program has not been played back, the outputting unit outputsoperation buttons relating to playback operations and when theoutputting unit determines that the recorded broadcast program has beenplayed back, the outputting unit outputs operation buttons relating toevaluation operations, and wherein a user decides whether to play backthe recorded broadcast program based on the outputted evaluation data,utilizing the operation buttons.
 2. The broadcast program processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit stores thebroadcast program as digital data in a memory, and wherein the acquiringunit acquires the evaluation data after transmitting identificationinformation concerning the broadcast program stored in the memory viathe network.
 3. The broadcast program processing apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit for transmitting, viathe network, evaluation result data concerning the broadcast programafter the user watches the broadcast program.
 4. A computer systemcomprising: acquiring means for acquiring evaluation result dataconcerning a broadcast program from a plurality of viewers; compilingmeans for obtaining evaluation data by compiling the evaluation resultdata; and transmitting means for transmitting the evaluation data to auser terminal in response to a request from the user terminal of a userwho intends to record and watch the broadcast program, wherein when auser sends evaluation data concerning the broadcast program to thecomputer system by using a predetermined apparatus, an authenticationprocedure is conducted depending on a connection type between thepredetermined apparatus and the computer system, wherein when theconnection type indicates a connection type of a TV receiver, theauthentication is not executed, wherein when the connection typeindicating a connection type of a mobile phone, the authenticationprocedure is executed, wherein the transmitting means transmits anevaluation form of the broadcast program to the user terminal, a formatof the evaluation form being selected from a PC form or a Cell Phoneform according to a type of the user terminal, wherein when thetransmitting means determines that the recorded broadcast program hasnot been played back, the transmitting means outputs information ofoperation buttons relating to playback operations and when thetransmitting means determines that the recorded broadcast program hasbeen played back, the transmitting means outputs information ofoperation buttons relating to evaluation operations, and wherein theuser decides whether to play back a recorded broadcast program based onthe evaluation data of the recorded broadcast program, utilizing theoperation buttons.
 5. The computer system according to claim 4, furthercomprising identification information acquiring means for acquiring fromthe user terminal identification information concerning the broadcastprogram that the user intends to watch, wherein the transmitting meanstransmits the evaluation data concerning the broadcast program to theuser terminal based on the acquired identification information.
 6. Thecomputer system according to claim 4, wherein the transmitting meansperiodically transmits the evaluation data concerning a plurality ofbroadcast programs to the user terminal.
 7. An evaluation processingsystem of a broadcast program, comprising: a terminal for audio-visuallyprocessing a recorded broadcast program; and a server capable oftransmitting to and receiving from the terminal evaluation dataconcerning the broadcast program, wherein the server includes: storingmeans for storing the evaluation data provided by a viewer concerningthe broadcast program; and server-side transmitting means fortransmitting to the terminal the stored evaluation data in response to arequest from the terminal, and wherein the terminal includes: acquiringmeans for acquiring the evaluation data from the server; and outputtingmeans for outputting the acquired evaluation data in connection withidentification information concerning the recorded broadcast program,wherein when the terminal transmits evaluation data concerning thebroadcast program via the network to the server, an authenticationprocedure is conducted depending on a connection type between theterminal and the server, wherein when the connection type indicates aconnection type of a TV receiver, the authentication is not executed,wherein when the connection type indicating a connection type of amobile phone, the authentication procedure is executed, wherein theserver-side transmitting means transmits an evaluation form of therecorded broadcast program to the terminal via the network, a format ofthe evaluation form being selected from a PC form or a Cell Phone formaccording to a type of the terminal, wherein when the outputting meansdetermines that the recorded broadcast program has not been played back,the outputting means outputs operation buttons relating to playbackoperations and when the outputting means determines that the recordedbroadcast program has been played back, the outputting means outputsoperation buttons relating to evaluation operations, and wherein a userof the terminal decides whether to play back the recorded broadcastprogram based on the outputted evaluation data, utilizing the operationbuttons.
 8. The evaluation processing system of a broadcast programaccording to claim 7, wherein the terminal further includes: inputtingmeans for inputting an evaluation result of the broadcast program afterthe user watches the broadcast program; and terminal-side transmittingmeans for transmitting to the server data concerning the inputtedevaluation result.
 9. The evaluation processing system of a broadcastprogram according to claim 7, wherein the server further includesauthentication means for authenticating that a user is registered in theserver in response to the request from the terminal, and wherein theevaluation data concerning the broadcast program is transmitted to andreceived from an authenticated user.
 10. The evaluation processingsystem of a broadcast program according to claim 9, wherein the serverincludes customer management means for adding privilege points toinformation, which is stored in the server, concerning the user of theterminal which has transmitted evaluation result data concerning thebroadcast program that has been watched.
 11. An evaluation processingmethod comprising: a step of acquiring, via the network, evaluation dataconcerning a broadcast program provided by a viewer; and a step ofoutputting the evaluation data corresponding to the broadcast program,together with information identifying the broadcast program, wherein theacquiring step receives an evaluation form of the broadcast program viathe network, a format of the evaluation form being selected from a PCform or a Cell Phone form according to a type of a broadcast programprocessing apparatus, wherein when the broadcast program processingapparatus transmits evaluation data concerning the broadcast program viathe network to a server, an authentication procedure is conducteddepending on a connection type between the broadcast program processingapparatus and the server, wherein when the connection type indicates aconnection type of a TV receiver, the authentication is not executed,wherein when the connection type indicating a connection type of amobile phone, the authentication procedure is executed, wherein theoutputting step determines whether the recorded broadcast program hasbeen played back and outputs operation buttons with the acquiredevaluation data according to a determination result, wherein when theoutputting step determines that the recorded broadcast program has notbeen played back, the outputting step outputs operation buttons relatingto playback operations and when the outputting step determines that therecorded broadcast program has been played back, the outputting stepoutputs operation buttons relating to evaluation operations, and whereinthe viewer of the computer system decides whether to play back therecorded broadcast program based on the outputted evaluation data,utilizing the operation buttons.
 12. The evaluation processing methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the information identifying the broadcastprogram includes title information of the broadcast program.